Review of 'Astle Park Traction Engine Rally 2026'

https://outdoorshows.co.uk/astle-park-traction-engine-rally/

Having very much enjoyed the “Astle Park Traction Engine Rally” last year (see here for review) we decided to once again head out this year. This time we opted to visit on the Saturday when it is open longer and has fireworks in the evening though these ended up being cancelled due to the prolonged drought we have been having.

Nothing really has changed over last year - Still lots of “traction (steam) engines” along with a good selection of other vehicles and farm equipment. This year we hung around the main arena to watch the various displays, in particular the “Grand Steam Parade (including miniatures)” which is always quite impressive particularly when they all pull their whistles at the same time at the end. This year the arena was pretty much full when all of the tractors where all lined up. Some of the tractors seemed to circle a few times before finding somewhere they could park…

The food available seemed to be better than last year with more exotic options on offer including a few Asian options (Thai and Chinese). Finding a spot to sit down and eat is always tricky. No chance of finding a spot to sit on the benches surrounding the main ring so the best is to walk a bit away and find some shade under a tree somewhere. We ended up sitting near the fairground which was again full of classic rides including a wonderful carousel that we were told may be powered later in the evening by several fairground tractors set up to also generate electricity for the lights.

There were a few “Fairground Organs” playing throughout our visit. These are always nice to see though quite, hum, loud.

Otherwise, the rest of the area had the same things as last year: The military vehicle display, the classic cars and motorcycles (had a great talk with an owner of an old Bentley about what it is like to own and maintain it), classic tractors, steam tractors, old trucks and coaches, car boot sale and other trade stalls. The “Fine Food Marquee” had two vendors selling baked goods but otherwise unchanged from last year.

At £12 in advance or £15 on the door, with free parking, it is certainly an inexpensive day out with all there is to see but it just seemed like we had seen it all before. The weather was quite hot and, as I said, dry so it was a bit unpleasant being there with the hard ground and no grass to speak of.

Still, it is amazing to see the big vehicles up and running, to be right beside them, feeling the heat coming from them and witnessing the sheer size of them…Wow. It is also great to talk to the people there about what they are passionate above…that has to be the best bit.

We never did stay long enough to see the light display they were to put on instead of fireworks…We tend to think this is intended more for those that are staying on site in the camping area as starts at something like 9:30 pm well after the final show in the ring at 4 pm.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2026-08-08

Location: Cheshire (England)

Address: Astle Park, Chelford, Cheshire, SK11 9AD

URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astle_Park

Astle Park is an area of land in the countryside a mile or so south of Chelford in Cheshire in England, on the west side of the A535 road (Holmes Chapel Road) from Chelford to Jodrell Bank (from Wikipedia). It is used to house events such as steam tractor fairs.